MARLBOROUGH- Sister Barbara McElwin (Sr. M. Divine Child) died at St. Patrick's Manor in Framingham, MA on Friday, April 4, 2014 after a long illness.  She was 94 years of age and had been a Sister of the Good Shepherd for 76 years.

Sister Barbara was born Barbara Gertrude in Somerville, MA, the daughter of Leo F. and Ethel (Stackpole) McElwin.  The family moved to Milton, MA and Barbara graduated from St. Gregory's High School in Dorchester, MA.  She entered the Good  Shepherd Novitiate in Peekskill, NY in 1938 to begin her formal training for her long career caring for the poor and marginalized of society, with special focus on teen-age girls and women.  Sister Barbara was certified in Pastoral Counseling by the National Association of Catholic Chaplains and in Home Economics by the University of Pennsylvania.  Sister Barbara made her Final Vows on November 21, 1943.

Sister Barbara's first assignment was to Springfield, MA, where she taught home economics and supervised the preparation of meals for the sisters and girls in residence.  In 1946 her skill in working with youngsters and women led her from the kitchen and the classroom to Director of Child Care in Morristown, NJ, and eventually to Superior and Executive Director of Our Lady of Grace Training School in Morristown, NJ.  Devoted to the Good Shepherd mission there, she ministered to the residents, and was also engaged in fundraising to keep the program operative.

Sister Barbara's certification by the National Association of Catholic Chaplains prepared her for chaplaincy, and she eventually developed a retreat program for sisters in the beautiful setting at Morristown, NJ.  At the urging of a lay person to look into a new ministry in the Church, Sister Barbara contacted the Bishop, who asked her to consider developing the Marriage Encounter program for married couples to renew or revive their marriages.  Barbara accepted the challenge, and the movement became so popular in the diocese and its environs that one happy couple came back often to help Barbara, and together they developed the Engaged Encounter retreat program, the success of which is legendary.

In 1997 Sister Barbara was nominated by Bishop Frank Rodimer and  received the Pro Ecclesia Et Pontifice Award for her outstanding service to the Church in the Diocese of Paterson, NJ.

Sister Barbara also served as chaplain at Morristown Memorial Hospital in New Jersey.  At the age of 79, Sister Barbara was missioned to Wickatunk, NJ, and there she participated in a day care program for infants of working mothers.

In 2005 she was missioned to Good Shepherd Center in Marlborough, MA, where she was engaged in prayer ministry and also volunteered in the shawl ministry at St. Matthias parish in Marlborough, MA.

Due to failing health, in 2008 Sister Barbara was missioned to St. Patrick's Manor in Framingham, MA.

Sister Barbara is survived by her sister, Virginia Machado of Pembroke, MA and her niece, Kathleen Joyce of Norwood, MA.

Visiting hours will be at Good Shepherd Center, 406 Hemenway Street, Marlborough, MA on Tuesday, April 8, 2014 from 4:00 to 8:00 p.m. with a Prayer Service  at 7:00 p.m.  A Mass of Christian Burial will be offered for Sister Barbara at Good Shepherd Center on Wednesday, April 9, 2014 at 10:00 a.m.  Burial will be at Mt. Benedict Cemetery in West Roxbury, MA.

Funeral arrangements are under the direction of Fitzgerald & Collins Funeral Home, 378 Lincoln Street, Marlborough www.CollinsFuneral.com .  Expressions of sympathy in Sister Barbara's memory may be made to the Good Shepherd Retirement Fund, 406 Hemenway Street, Marlborough, MA 01752.

The Sisters of the Good shepherd were founded by St. Mary Euphrasia Pelletier in Angers, France in 1835, in the United States (Louisville, KY) in 1843, and in Boston in 1867.